Oven light



Aug. 17, 1943. w LQTTER 2,327,200

OVEN LIGHT Filed Feb. 17, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1

OOO HT Patented Aug. 17, 1943 William Letter, Cleveland, Ohio, assignor to American Stove Company, St. Louis,'Mo.,"a corv poration of New Jersey 3 Application February 17, 1941, Serial svaazo Claims.

This invention pertains to an oven and more particularly and specifically to a construction. for illuminating the interior of said oven.

The oven is particularly adapted for use in an oven of a cooking range but the inventive concept could be applied to other compartments for I the illumination thereof withoutdeparting from the inventive concept.

The primary object of the invention is therefore the provisionof illumination for the interior of an oven chamber which automatically causes theillumination of the oven upon the opening of the oven door. r

A further-object of the invention is that of providing in ,a device of the character hereinbefore described means for manually bringing about the illumination of the oven without the necessity of opening the oven door, v

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a device of the character described which is cheap and simple of manufacture and installation yet highly efiicient in operation.

.Other specific objects, novel features of constructionand improved results will appear. from the following detailed description when'read in the light of the accompanying drawings which illustrate an operative embodiment of the inventive concept. In the drawings: r Fig, 1 is a vertical sectional view through-the oven compartment of any conventional'cooking range. V V Fig. 2 is a fragmentary. horizontalsectional View.

Fig. 3 is ,front view of the oven and its door.

. In theaccompanying drawings an oven chamber A is defined by a front ,wall I, a top 2, a rear wall 3 and a bottomwhich is not shownubut is of any wellknown conventional construction. .1

door is the subject matter of the A. @H. Moecker Patent No. 2,179,049 dated November 7, 1939, The door at its lower end is pivotally supported at its opposite sides on the extending hook like ends 4 of the brackets 4 which are rigidly connectedjto the range at opposite sides of the oven door opening. The hinge includes'at each side 45 is utilized.

(CLIZMY- -S) ofthe oven door opening an inwardly extending arm or link 4 the outer end of which is pivot- .ally connected to the door as at 4' while its inner end, which always remains in the space be- 5 tween the inner and outer side walls of the oven, is attachedas at 5 the lower extending 7 ,end 6; of a coil spring 1 which has its opposite .endfi anchored to therange iront i. These springs act as almeans to partially counterball o ance the weight of the door B and as a conse-' quence prevent the door stops from striking the stove front I too heavy a blow in the event the door is dropped. It is a fact however that the oven door in manyinstances' is so .heavy as to make the spring I inadequate to sufficiently cushion the door in the event it is dropped to an open position. This is true byireason of the fact that .the hinge and spring are particularly designed for domestic stoves which are of lighter construction rather than for commercial stoves such as pitalsj and similar places; I

Withth'epresent' invention however it is posheavy duty stoves for use in restaurants; hossible to utilize a lighter'weight coil cou-nterbalv ancing spring, 1 on a heavy oven door because I (haveprovided for additional counterbalancing or I cushioning means. The app-arent'obvious expe- .diency or enlarging and strengthening the coil spring I for taking care of a door of heavier weight would not meet the situation for the reason that these door springs are usually placed I within the lining,.that is between the inner and j outer walls, of an oven and as a consequence the ,space' available for a spring is not sufficiently large to make it possible to utilize heavy springs.

Thus; as will presently appear, it is possible to use a standard oven door hinge and counterbal- "ancing spring of medium weight on a range having. a door of agreater weight than that for 40 whichthe counterbalancing springwas designed.

" To one of the arms is rigidly attached as at I0 a plate which has an extending portion I I arranged in separated relationshipwith an extension portion l2 of the arm to form a clip into which extends an-end 13 of an elongated rod M. The

rodjend I3 is detachably pivotally connected in its stated-position as indicated at l5. 7 v

The a rod extends practically substantially throughout the depth of the oven chamber and has its rear end l6 extending through a suitable opening provided in a flange or wall I! carried by a suitable plate l8 which is welded, bolted, or otherwise suitably secured as at l9 to the side wall 2%] of the oven chamber. A coil spring 2i encircles the rod end it and is disposed between the wall H and a suitable washer or abutment 22 carried by the rod adjacent its end it.

In the drawings the door is illustrated as bein in an open position and it will be obvious that the coil spring 2| is compressed between the wall I7 and the rod abutment 22 and constitutes an auxiliary counterbalancing spring to a portion of the weight of the door and will act to cushion the stoppage of the door in a horizontal planewhich is the position that most oven doors assume when in a fully open position.

The rear outermost wall 23 of the range in axial alignment with the rod i4 is providedwith an opening E l. Exterior of the range a push-in type or" electric switch 25 is mounted upon a suitable --bracket 2% and hasits actuating button 2'! disposed in axial alignment with the rod 4 and as a consequence said push button is exteriorly behind the opening'fit in the rear wall of the range.

This switch is a common form of switch which canbe-bouglit on the open market and is sprin loaded to hold the push button is an extended position. When the button is in an extended position an electric circuit through the switch is 'closed and as a conseque ncethe switch can be called a normally closed switch. An inward movement of the button will occur when the oven door is moved to aclosed position, as illustrated in dotted lines, as the length of the rod is such that it under these conditions will engage and push the switch push button ii in and hold it in that position as long "as the range oven door is in a closed position. As a consequence as long as "the range oven door is closed the 'switch'fit is open. V A high temperature electric light bulb C is positioned within the oven adjacentthe topand rear thereof and is supported in a suitable'ele'ctric light socket 27 mounted on or in the rear oven wa l '23. This'so'cket has an end 28 exterior of the range oven rear wall and to protect the sa me against damageI p'rovidea suitable guard' or housingds. A suitable receptacle or 00' p block 33 is mounted within a protective box 31 the. rear "wall or the oven and has a pair of terminals 32 and 33'.

Current for the illumination of the electric light is brought from any suitable source and [would in ordinary circumstances be the electric lighting system within the building wherein the in a closed position I provide means by which the a electric circuit to the light can be manually closed rather than closed by the opening of the oven door. To this end I conveniently position, such as on a panel 33 at the front of the range asp ring loaded push-in type of switch 39 provided with a push button 42. V This switch is normally open but an bec q e i n nw s e u on th pushbuttonthereoi i2 and are always hot. door is moved to an open position and thus closes A conductor H interconnects the opposite terminal of the light socket to one terminal of the door operated switch 25 while a conductor 42 interconnects the other terminal of this switch to the receptacle terminal 33. A conductor 43 interconnects the receptacle terminal 33 with one terminal M of the manually operable push-in switch 39 whilethe opposite remaining terminal of said switch is connected to the electric light socket'terminal it by a conductor M.

.It will be understood that the conductors 35, 36, When the oven .optional illumination of the oven when the oven door is closedand that this is provided for by an 'eiztreme'l simple cheap arrangement which is a convenient.

simple of manufacture and cheap and simple of installation. instillation can very readily be made even on ranges now in operation by making the rod M of the proper length and suitably andthe push button 27 of the electric switch 2-5.

"The invention is to be-limit'ed only within the scope of the hereinafter appended claims.

I claim:

'1. In a cooking range having an-oven one wall at. least of which is of the double wall type wherein there is an outer and an inner wall in spaced relationship to provideahousing 'a'n electric circuit, an electric light therein-said light being disposed in said even to illuminate the interior thereof, a switch in said circuit positioned on the exteriorside of the rear wall of said oven and biased by resilient means to- .wards a closed position, an ovendoor'opening in'the front wall of said'oven and a door therefore, said door being supported for swinging movement, a rigid rod within the space-between said oven double walls, meanspivot ally connecting. the rod with said door, the' rear- 'wall of-said oveniprovidedwith an opening aligned with'said su'ritch, saidnrod having a rear end adapted to pass through said opening-andengage saidfswitch and hold the same. in. an. opnposition when .saidoven door is in. a closedposition; and said rod being; moved 'forwardlyftowardthe. front of said oven upon the opening of 's'aidoven door 'to permit said switch'toautom'atically move to a closed position; a

2. In a. cooking range having 'an oven one wall at, leastxof-whichds. ofxthe double wall type wherein'there is an :outer andaninner-WalI-"in spaced relationshipto provideah'ousi ng, an electric. circuit, anelectric light. therein, saiddight being. disposed. in. .said', oven. to illuminate-the interior thereof, a switch in said circuit positioned on the exterior side of the rear wall of said oven and biased by resilient means towards a closed position, an oven door opening in the front wall of said oven'and a door therefor, said door being supported for swinging movement and provided with an arm, said arm extending into the space between said double walls of said oven and having a portion disposed in said space at all times irrespective of the position of said door, a rigid rod within the space between said oven double walls and, means pivotally connecting the rod with said door arm, the rear wall of said oven provided with an opening aligned with said switch, said rod having a rear end adapted to pass through said opening and engage said switch and hold the same in an open position when said oven door is in a closed position, and said rod being moved forwardly toward the front of said oven upon the opening of said oven door to permit said switch to automatically move to a closed position.

3. A construction such as defined in claim 1 wherein, said oven is provided with means which affords inspection of the oven when the oven door is closed, a second electric circuit having connection with said light and having a manually operable switch which is held normally in an open position under resilient tension, and said switch being positioned for convenient manual operation to permit said circuit to be closed and said light illuminated without opening said oven door.

4. A construction such as defined in claim 2 wherein, said oven is provided with means which affords inspection of the oven when the oven door is closed, a second electric circuit having connection with said light and having a manually operable switch which is held normally in an open position under resilient tension, and said switch being positioned for convenient manual operation to permit said circuit to be closed and said light illuminated without opening said oven door.

5. A construction such as defined in claim 1 wherein, resilient means is connected to said door and acts normally to hold said door in a closed position, and resilient means connected to said rod and acting normally to hold said rod in engagement with said switch and functions additionally to counterbalance a portion of the weight of said door as the door is moved into an open position.

6. A construction such as defined in claim 2 wherein, a spring is mounted on the front wall of said oven and disposed wholly within the housing formed by the double wall of said oven, said spring having connection with said door arm and acting normally to hold the door in a closedposition, and resilient means connected to said rod and acting to exert a tension thereon to hold said rod in engagement with said switch and to additionally serve to counterbalance a portion of the weight of said door as the door is moved into an open position.

7. In a range, an oven, an oven door hinged at its lower end to the outer oven wall, a link having both ends free of the outer oven wall, an

outer end of said link pivoted to said door and an inner end always disposed within said oven, resilient means arranged between said oven outer wall and the inner end of said link, said resilient means operatively engaging the link and acting to move the dOOr to a closed position, a horizontally disposed rod having an outer end connected to and supported by the said inner end of the link and being movably reciprocated thereby when said door is opened and closed, an electric circuit, and an electric switch therein located in line with the movement of the rear end of said rod and operated thereby to control the flow of current through said circuit.

8. In a range, an oven, a door hinged at its lower edge to said oven, a link located above and apart from said hinge and having an outer end pivoted to said door at a point above and apart from said hinge, said link having an inner end always inside the outer wall of the oven, a switch operating rod having an outer end connected to the inner end of said link and extending inward, an electric switch operative by said rod, an oven light controlled by said switch,

and an expanding spring connected with the inner end of said link and the wall of said oven, whereby said link, door and switch rod are movable inward by said spring for the purpose described.

9. In a range, an oven, a door hinged at its lower end to said oven, a link located above and apart from said hinge, the link having an outer end operatively pivotally connected to said door above and apart from said hinge and the inner end of said link being also positioned above and apart from said hinge, a vertically arranged expanding spring having its ends respectively connected with the outer wall of the oven and the inner end of said link, and a horizontally disposed rod within said oven having an outer end pivotally connected with the inner end of said link, and said rod extending rearward,

andan electric switch operative by said rod whereby the parts operate as and for the purpose described.

10. In a range or the like, an oven having one side wall of the double wall type wherein there is an outer and an inner wall in spaced relationship to provide a housing, an electric circuit, an electric light in said circuit, said light being disposed to illuminate the interior of the oven, a switch in said circuit positioned on the rear wall of said oven and biased towards a closed position, an oven door opening in the front wall of said oven and a door therefor supported for swinging movement provided with an arm extending into said housing between said oven walls, a rod disposed wholly within said housing 'and being connected to said door arm, said rod when said dooris closed engaging and holding said electric switch in an open position, and said rod when said door is opened being moved forwardly and disengaging said switch to permit the switch to automatically move to a closed position to close said circuit and cause the illumination of said light.

WILLIAM LOT'I'ER. 

